Fusarium Species and Mycotoxins Associated with Sorghum Grains in Uruguay.

Grain mold and stalk rot are among the fungal diseases that cause significant losses in sorghum worldwide and are caused by different Fusarium spp. The presence of Fusarium species in sorghum grains causes yield losses and mycotoxin contamination, which represents a risk to consumers. In this study, Fusarium graminearum species complex (FGSC) had a high incidence, followed by Fusarium fujikuroi species complex (FFSC) and F. incarnatum-equiseti species complex. Within FFSC, F. proliferatum, F. andiyazi, F. fujikuroi, F. thapsinum, F. verticillioides and F. subglutinans were identified, and this was the first report of F. fujikuroi in sorghum. The most frequent toxins found in sorghum samples were deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEN). The presence of fumonisins and nivalenol (NIV) was detected at low levels. This study adds new knowledge about the occurrence of Fusarium species and mycotoxins in sorghum grains. Furthermore, this is the first report in Uruguay on fungicide sensitivity for Fusarium isolates from sorghum, which constitutes an important starting point for defining management practices to minimize fungal infection and mycotoxin contamination.

Synthetic chalcones, flavanones, and flavones as antitumoral agents: biological evaluation and structure-activity relationships.

A series of synthetic chalcones, flavanones, and flavones has been synthesized and evaluated for antitumor activity against the human kidney carcinoma cells TK-10, human mammary adenocarcinoma cells MCF-7 (estrogen receptor-positive), and human colon adenocarcinoma cells HT-29. The most active series is the chalcone ones with the best results against TK-10 and HT-29 cells. Fourteen out of 53 analyzed compounds resulted very active against at least two of the studied tumoral cells. Alkaline single cell gel electrophoresis, comet assay, was performed as a study of the chromosomal aberrations promoted by the compounds on normal cells. Four active and two inactive chalcones were studied in the comet assay against normal human kidney cells (HK-2). A structure-activity relationship analysis of these compounds was performed and for 4- and 3,4-disubstituted derivatives a quantitative correlation was obtained in the case of anti-HT-29 activity.